Health researchers warned on Thursday that New Zealand sport is "awash with junk food" sponsorship by multinational food giants with an "unhealthy influence on the country's rising obesity rates," according to XINHUA. A study by the University of Otago Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit indicated that rugby had the "most unhealthy sponsorship by far." Lead researcher and associate professor Louise Signal said in a statement that the "wide availability and promotion of junk food in sport undermined the sport sector's efforts to promote healthy eating to players and was at odds with the healthy nature of sport." Signal: "Given the alarmingly high rates of overweight and obesity among our children, the saturation of junk food in sport needs to be examined" (XINHUA, 11/7).